The new administration of Longueuil demands that a new “prestige” neighborhood of 4,000 homes projected on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, near the Jacques-Cartier bridge, include more social, affordable and family housing.
Rental housing, residential buildings as well as retail and public spaces could be built in the next few years on a strip of land that runs along the river, according to the current version of the Canada Lands Company (CLC) project. , owner of the land since 2006.
In recent months, the SIC has met with representatives of the City of Longueuil to relaunch and plan the development of the Longue-Rive sector, a space located between the river and Route 132 and stretching from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge at the Municipal Yacht Club.
Meetings with the Ministère des Transports du Québec “are also part of the development process to ensure accessibility”, indicates the To have to in an email the person in charge of communications of the SIC, Manon Lapensée. The project will require a redevelopment of Route 132.
About 4,000 housing units are envisaged in the current version of the project, the administration of the City of Longueuil confirmed to the newspaper. Started before the election of Mayor Catherine Fournier last fall, the project could be considerably transformed. It will have to be adapted to the current reality, that of the housing crisis and the rise in real estate prices.
“We really don’t want it to be just a luxury tower project. We want it to be an accessible project for the population, with social housing and affordable housing,” says Louis-Philip Prévost, special adviser to the Mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier.
Mr. Prévost thus alludes to Longueuil downtown 2035, the development vision unveiled by ex-mayor Caroline St-Hilaire in 2017. It projected “high-end residential real estate development” on the CLC site. The goal: to give birth to a new district with a “prestige residential vocation”. “High-rise” buildings would allow residents “a view of the river and downtown Montreal,” we read.
The new administration of Longueuil does not intend to support the project without major modification. “I think I can say it: there is a disconnect between our vision and that of the previous administration,” said Mr. Prévost, indicating that Longueuil residents should be able to feel comfortable and welcome on the banks of the river. .
We really don’t want this to be just a luxury tower project. We want it to be an accessible project for the population, with social housing and affordable housing.
This “change of vision” could reduce the number of dwellings offered, concedes Mr. Prévost: “For there to be housing for families, it shouldn’t just be three or four-room units; there must be five or six pieces. »
It also notes the importance of establishing infrastructures that will meet the needs of residents, including families. “At this stage, there is no promise of a school in the neighborhood, but we have to wonder about this type of infrastructure. It’s the same thing for public transit,” he points out.
By the end of the year, Longueuil intends to adopt a real estate development policy on its territory that would consider more aspects, such as natural environments and access to affordable housing or first-time property.
The cities of Longueuil and Laval will hold a housing summit on August 26. The event, which should bring together nearly 300 people, both from the municipal world and from governments and organizations in the housing sector, aims to find solutions to the challenges posed by development in these suburbs.
An example of a measure that would make it possible to have more affordable housing in Longueuil? Mr. Prévost cites the Montreal example of the Regulation for a mixed metropolis, known as the “20/20/20” Regulation. In effect since April 2021, this measure forces promoters of residential projects over 450 m2 to provide social, affordable and family housing.
“We don’t have this kind of regulation in Longueuil at the moment,” he points out. It is this situation that led to the start of construction, in the fall of 2021, of two apartment towers of more than 25 floors near the Longueuil metro station. These offer no social or affordable housing.
These are beacons that would reduce the effects of soaring real estate prices and the current housing crisis, hopes the City. The vacancy rate for private rental housing in 2021 in the Longueuil agglomeration was among the lowest in the province (1.2%), according to data released in May by the Montreal Metropolitan Community. The price of single-family homes has jumped 78% over the past five years, now reaching $501,500.